Furnace.



G. W. STEVENSON.

FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-'22, 816.

1,223,213. 2 Patented Apr. 17,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

a. w. STEVENSON.

FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJZ. i916 Patented Apr. 17, 1917'. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I vii eooco G. W. STEVENSON.

FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED AUG-22. I916 Patented Apr. 17, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

PATET r1 OFFICE.

GEORGE W. STEVENSON, 0F CANTON OHIO.

FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1'7, 1917.

Application filed August 22, 1916. Serial No. [16,347.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, (lnouol: V. STEVEN- soN, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Canton, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to furnaces especially adapted to be used for heating metal plates or bars preparatory to rolling and it consists in the novel features hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of'the invention is to provide a furnace of the character indicated which in turn includes side and top walls with a fire box located at the center thereof and a wheel journaled for rotation within the wheels and surrounding the fire box. Novel and improved means are provided for turning the said wheel and the wheel is supported upon ball bearings which are immersed in water and the said turning means are also submerged whereby they are protected against the intense heat and prevented from becoming annealed.

.A number of heating chambers or compartments are arranged upon the wheel and the said compartments are separated from each other by means of walls or partitions which include fire brick casings and fillings of sand or other granular material.

The furnace is substantially circular in plan and it is surrounded at its face by a flue which communicates with, a stack. Other flues are provided at the sides of the furnace and they communicate at their lower ends with the first mentioned flue and at their upper ends with the interior of the furnace. Openings are rovided at the upper end of the fire-box w ereby the products of combustion may pass from' the firebox into the interior of the furnace above the wheel. The said products of combustion pass down through the flues and through the circular flue stack.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a top plan View of the furnace.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the same. a

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the same.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view.

Fi 6 is a perspective view of a bearing used 1n the furnace.

Fig. 7 is a side view of a ball used in the same.

The furnace includes an exterior circular wall 1 of fire brick or other suitable material, the said vall 1 supporting the roof 2 of similar material. Beams 3 are positioned at the exteriorsurface of the wall 1 and rods 4 connect the upper ends of the beams with a ring 5 which is positioned atthe central portiol. of the roof 2. A circular flue 6 surrour ds the base portion of the wall 1 and the said. flue communicates with the base of a. stack 7. Upright flues 8 communicate at their lower ends with the flue 6 and at their upper ends with the interior of the furnace body. A firebox 9 is concentrically positioned in the body of the fu mice and the said fire-box is provided at its upper end with openings 10 which communicate with the interior of the body of the furnace. A grate 11 is located in the lower pcrtion of the fire-box 9 and an ash pit 12 is p 'ovided below the said grate. A tunnel 13 cc mmunicates at one end with the side of the ash pit 12 and leads under the body of the furnace and is provided at its outer end with a door 14 of usual pattern. A hopper 15 is mounted at the center of the roof 2 and a gate 16 is slidably mounted in the lower portion of the said hopper. A lever 17 is fulc' 'umed upon the roof 2 of the furnace and 0. 1e end thereof is connected with the said gate. A rod 18 is connected with the outer end of the said lever 17 and may be used fo" swinging the lever whereby the gate may be movedfrom a closed to an open position iii the hopper or vice versa,

The wall 1 is provided at one side with a door opening 19 and vertically disposed guides 20 are )ositioned'at the side edges thereof. A ski l 21 is positioned at the side of the wall 1 be low the door opening 19 and a door 22 is sli lably mounted in the guides 20. A lever 23 is fulcrumed upon the wall 1 above the door opening 19 and a chain 24 connects one er d of the said lever 23 with the door 22. A1 other chain 25 is attached to the free end of :he lever 23' and may be used for swinging the lever. As the lever is swung the. chain 24 is moved longitudinally whereby the door 22 may be opened or closed with relation to the openin 19.

A steam pipe 26 leads into the flue 6 at a point adjacent the base of the stack 7 and may be used fir injecting steam into the flue and stack for the purpose of starting 'a draft through the' same. A damper 27 is located in the flue 6 adjacent the steam pipe 26 and may be moved to increase or diminish the passage way through the said flue and stack to regulate the draft through these parts.

A number 'of bearings 29 are mounted upon the bottom wall 30 of the furnace and balls 31 are provided with gudgeons 32 which are journaled in the said bearings 29.

The lower portion of the body of the furnace is filled with water the level of which is above the balls 31 and the bearings which support the same. A wheel 33 is provided at its underside with races 34 which receive the balls 31 and the said wheel is arranged to turn within the side wall 1 of the furnace and around the fire box 9 thereof. A chain or other flexible elements 35 surrounds the periphery of the wheel 33 and also winds about a. drum 36 mounted on a shaft 37 journaled for rotation in a basin 38 provided at the side wall 1 of the furnace. A gear wheel 39 is mountedon the shaft 37 and meshes with a gear wheel 40 mounted on a shaft 41 also journaled in the said basin. A beveled pinion 42 is mounted on the shaft 41 and meshes with a similar pinion 43 mounted on a shaft 44 journaled for rotation above the basin 38. The shaft 44 is provided with a crank handle 45 whereby the said shaft may be rotated. It is apparentthat as the shaft 44- rotates the beveled pinions transmit rotary movement to the shaft 41 which through the intermeshing gear wheels 39 and 40 move the chain 35 longitudinally and consequently the wheel 33 is rotated about the firebox of the furnace.

A number of sector shaped partitions 46 are mounted upon the wheel 33 and the spaces between the said partitions form heating chambers 47. The said partitions 46 are filled with sand 48 or other suitable granular material and quantities of sand are confined below the floor of the heating chambers 47 as best indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawing. The floors of the heating chambers 47 are provided with longitudinally disposed grooves 49 along which tongs or other suitable handling implements may be passed when it is desired to withdraw the plates} of metal or bars from the heating chambers.

In operation, the products of combustion pass from the fire box 9 through the openings 10 at the upper portion thereof into the space under the roof 2 of the furnace. The

saidproducts of combustion then descend and pass down through the flues'ifiinto the flue 6 and then around the flue'b and up through the stack 7. During this movement to hold water against the upper edge of the of the products of combustion the heat comes in contact with the material which is located in the heating chambers 47 and the said material is heated preparatory to rolling or working. Also the sand 48 absorbs a great amount of heat and gives the same ofi gradually so that when the furnace is once thoroughly heated the plates or bars which are placed in the heating chambers 47 are soon brought to a desired degree of temperature. When the material is placed in the heating chambers an operator uses the crank '45 whereby the wheel is turned and the material is carried around the interior of the wall 1. As the heated material arrives at the door opening 19 it is removed from the furnace through the same and other material to be heated is placed in the heating chambers through the said door openings.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that a furnace of simple and durable structure is provided and that the same may be economically used for the 85 purpose of heating plates of metal or bars preparatory to rolling or other operation.

What I claim is 5-- 1. A furnace comprising a side wall, a top walland a'bottom wall,la basin located at the side of-the furnace and communicating with the interior thereof through an opening in the side wall, the upper end of the basin being at an elevation sufficiently high said opening, a wheel turnably mounted in the furnace, a fire box positioned centrally of the wheel, the lower portion of the furnace constituting a tank a apted to retain water 7 from the basin, means for turning the wheel 1 00 and immersed in the said water,-a the surrounding the base portion of the furnace," other flues communicating with the interior of the furnace and the first mentioned flue,

and a stack communicating with the last mentioned flue. I

2. A furnace comprising a body having a centrally positioned fire box and adapted to retain a liquid cooling agent, bearings 10- cated in the lower portion of the body and adaptedto be immersed in said agent, antifriction members journaled in the bearings, a wheel having races which receive the antifriction members, partitions mounted upon the wheel, a flexible element connected with 11 the wheel, a drum around which the said flexible element is wound and means immersed in said cooling agent and adapted to turn the drum.

- In testimony whereof I atfix my signature. 1

GEORGE W. STEVENSON. 

